Department for Transport

High Speed 2 Line: Roads

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing (a) haul and (b) service roads used in the construction of HS2 to become part of the active travel infrastructure once they are no longer in use.

Andrew Stephenson: As set out in my recently published Parliamentary Report, I have asked HS2 Ltd to explore the potential for the re-purposing of temporary construction routes into vehicle-free connections between rural communities that could connect with emerging local authority cycling and walking routes and provide a wider active travel network along the spine of HS2.

Department for Transport: Public Expenditure

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will detail the losses and special payments valued at under £300,000 for his departmental group as defined by section A4.10.7 in HM Treasury's Managing Public Money for (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department comprises the Core Department together with its 19 agencies and arm’s length bodies, many of which are large organisations who conduct a significant level of transactional activity and may incur a relatively high volume of low value losses. Detailed registers of all Losses and Special Payments are held locally by each agency and arm’s length body, in accordance with MPM paragraph A4.10.7. In order to meet MPM reporting requirements, the central department holds summary level information on the total number and value of Losses and Special Payments across the departmental group and specific details of items above £300,000, as disclosed in the Annual Report & Accounts. Due to the high volume of low value cases, it would not be practicable for the Department to provide a detailed analysis of all Losses & Special Payments below £300,000.

West Coast Partnership Rail Franchise: Cleaning Services

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether under the terms of the emergency recover management agreement between First-Trenitalia West Coast and his Department the franchise operator continues to be paid in the event that cleaning is disrupted by industrial action.

Wendy Morton: Under the terms of the franchise, as amended by the Emergency Measures Recovery Agreement, the operator is paid a fixed fee during its term. Operators can also receive a performance-based fee when performance levels are adequately met or exceeded which is independently evaluated. The Department requires the operator, where possible, to mitigate the impact of industrial action on passengers. In the event of industrial action operators will develop additional plans in support so it is able to deliver the best possible service for passenger despite any disruption.

West Coast Partnership Rail Franchise: Cleaning Services

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish reports from First Trenitalia West Coast, including tables, charts and other data, showing delivery of Station and Train cleans against planned programmes for each Performance Based Fee Assessment Period since September 2020.

Wendy Morton: The Department does not publish this information. The score for each Performance Based Fee Assessment Period is published on the Gov.uk website.Customer complaints data is available on the Office of Rail and Road website, these include complaints relating to the cleanliness of stations and trains. Transport Focus also conduct regular passenger satisfaction surveys. The results are available on Transport Focus website.

West Coast Partnership Rail Franchise: Atalian Servest

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the terms of the contract between his Department and First-Trenitalia West Coast indemnify Atalian Servest from any financial penalty caused by industrial action.

Wendy Morton: There is no contractual relationship between Atalian Servet and First Trenitalia West Coast Rail and therefore the terms of the contract between the Department and First Trenitalia West Coast Rail do not indemnify Atalian Servest from any financial penalty caused by industrial action.

West Coast Partnership Rail Franchise: Cleaning Services

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the planned programmes of Station and Train cleans required from First-Trenitalia West Coast as a condition of its Emergency Recovery Management Agreement for each Performance Based Fee Assessment Period since September 2020.

Wendy Morton: The Department requires that all operators put in place plans and processes to deliver effective cleaning on trains and at stations. The Department does not publish their plans, but the delivery of these plans is regularly monitored and independently evaluated.

West Coast Partnership Rail Franchise: Cleaning Services

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish correspondence between his Department and the directors of First Trenitalia West Coast, Alstom Transport Ltd or Atalian Servest in respect of the current industrial dispute over cleaners’ pay.

Wendy Morton: In line with requirements within the Franchise, the Department is made aware of all the ongoing industrial disputes. These disputes are for the operator and as such the Department has not been involved in any correspondence on this dispute with the Directors of these companies or the Directors at First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Ltd.

Fuels: Newport West

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to mitigate the impact of rising fuel costs on motorists in Newport West constituency.

Trudy Harrison: I am working closely with Cabinet colleagues to consider support we can provide to road users in these challenging times. My Rt Hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has recently announced a 12 month cut to duty on petrol and diesel of 5p per litre, representing a saving worth around £100 for the average car driver, £200 for the average van driver, and £1,500 for the average haulier.

Railways: Electrification

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of the rail network that will be electrified during Control Period 6, 2019-24, and Control Period 7, 2024-29.

Wendy Morton: In Control Period 6, we have already completed nearly 270 track miles of electrification in England and Wales that are now open to the public.For Control Period 7, rail enhancement budgets have not yet been set.

West Coast Partnership Rail Franchise: Cleaning Services

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether under the terms of the emergency recovery management agreement between his Department and First Trenitalia West Coast, he has given a mandate in relation to Atalian Servest’s current pay arrangements at Alstom’s Traincare depots.

Wendy Morton: There is no contractual relationship between First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Ltd, the Departments contractual partner, and Atalian Servest. The pay arrangements of Atalian Servest is a matter for Atalian Servest.

Railways: Females

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on ensuring the safety of female train passengers and staff.

Wendy Morton: The rail industry has an established work programme to tackle Violence against Woman and Girls (VAWG) including a communications campaign, targeted training for frontline staff, and improved access to reporting. Tackling unwanted sexual behaviour is a priority for British Transport Police.

West Coast Partnership Rail Franchise: Cleaning Services

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether First Trenitalia West Coast, Alstom Transport or Atalian Servest are permitted to improve pay arrangements for cleaners employed in Alstom’s traincare depots.

Wendy Morton: There is no contractual relationship between Atalian Servest and either First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Ltd or the Department. Alalian Servest is responsible for its own employees and will make its own determinations on the pay of its employees.

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has plans to ban parking on a pavement for roads outside residential properties that are only one car wide.

Trudy Harrison: The Department consulted on measures to address pavement parking and received over 15,000 responses. Ministers are carefully considering the options in the light of the consultation findings, including the issue of parking on narrow roads. We will publish the formal consultation response and announce next steps as soon as possible.

West Coast Partnership Rail Franchise: Concessions

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the directors of First Trenitalia West Coast, Alstom Transport Ltd or Atalian Servest are entitled to any form of free rail travel or rail staff travel facilities.

Wendy Morton: First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Ltd Directors do have rail travel for work and private purposes as part of their employment benefits.

Motor Vehicles: Lighting

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has plans to review vehicle lighting legislation following the UK's departure from the EU to reduce the impact of dazzle on drivers and pedestrians.

Trudy Harrison: Provisions for vehicle headlamps are established and agreed within the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and define maximum and minimum intensity, light pattern and position on the vehicle. The rights and obligations of the UK within the UNECE are unaffected by EU Exit.

Transport: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much core funding his Department has allocated to each sub-national transport body (a) in each of the last five years and (b) over the next three years.

Andrew Stephenson: The table below sets out how much core funding the Department for Transport has allocated to each Sub-National Transport Body (STB) in each of the last five years, and the core funding allocations for the upcoming financial year. Where no figure has been provided, the STB was not yet formally established.STB17/1818/1919/2020/2121/2222/23Transport for the North£10m*£10m£10m£7m£6m£6.5mMidlands Connect£3m£5m£4m£5m£5m£5mTransport for the South-East£100k£1m£500k£1.225m£1.225m£1.725mEngland’s Economic Heartland£100k£1m£500k£500k£900k£1.350mTransport EastN/AN/AN/A£425k£520k£762kWestern GatewayN/AN/AN/A£425k£425k£605kPeninsula TransportN/AN/AN/A£425k£425k£585k*This was provided to the Transport for the North Partnership Board, prior to TfN being established as a statutory body.Whilst all non-statutory STBs have received an indicative projection of their funding across the Spending Review period, actual funding will be subject to an approved workplan and good performance over the previous Financial Year.

Motor Vehicles: Hydrogen

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with stakeholders in the hydrogen sector on the decarbonisation of road vehicles.

Trudy Harrison: My officials maintain an active presence on the Hydrogen Advisory Council and regularly engage transport stakeholders through DfT supported projects such as our zero emission road freight demonstration programme and the Tees Valley Hydrogen Transport Hub.

P&O Ferries: Conditions of Employment

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will take steps to determine whether P&O Ferries' employment contracts breach employment law.

Robert Courts: P&O Ferries has conducted itself in an appalling manner. There are clear requirements around both consultation and notification when making collective redundancies. The Business Secretary wrote to the Insolvency Service on 23 March asking them to urgently undertake a thorough enquiry into the actions of P&O Ferries. Following this review the Insolvency Service confirmed on 1st April they have initiated both formal criminal and civil investigations into the circumstances surrounding the recent redundancies made by P&O Ferries.

Driving Tests: Jarrow

Kate Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who owns the building which accommodates the DVSA South Shields Driving Test Centre on the Bede Industrial Estate in Jarrow.

Trudy Harrison: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency owns the building that accommodates South Shields driving test centre.

Bus Services: Training

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will issue guidance requiring any bus company operating in a local authority to provide mandatory training to all workers on gender and sexual based harassment and violence.

Trudy Harrison: Everyone has the right to feel safe when travelling and we are determined to improve the safety of our transport network. The Department is working closely with the Home Office on the cross-departmental strategy to address Violence Against Women and Girls.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Research: Finance

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of trends in the levels of real-terms research funding since 2010.

George Freeman: The Office for National Statistics publishes data on UK gross expenditure on research and development (GERD). Its latest published figures show £38.5 billion in 2019 compared to £25.9 billion in 2010, a nominal increase of about 49%. Adjusted for changes in the GDP deflator, this suggests an increase in constant prices of about 26% over the same period.

Research: Finance

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the £39.8 billion Research and Development budget for 2022-2025, what proportion of that funding will be allocated to research using (a) advanced cultures of human cells and tissues, (b) artificial intelligence, (c) organ-on-a-chip technology and (d) other new approach methodologies.

George Freeman: We have set out how BEIS’ record £39.8 billion R&D budget will be allocated across our partner organisations over the next three years in our ‘BEIS R&D: partner organisation allocation 2022/2023 to 2024/2025’ report published on 14 March. BEIS will now be working with all partner organisations to determine detailed allocations within their envelopes, including at council level for UK Research and Innovation. Details of funding for specific programmes will be agreed by BEIS and partner organisations and set out in due course.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Public Expenditure

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will detail the losses and special payments valued at under £300,000 for his departmental group as defined by section A4.10.7 in HM Treasury's Managing Public Money for (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.

George Freeman: The Department has disclosed information about losses and special payments in its annual report and accounts. The attached workbook holds details of remaining items disclosed in aggregate in the annual reports for the above periods.UIN 148124 - Workbook, Losses and Special Payments (xlsx, 35.2KB)

Re-employment

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to end fire and rehire, following the events at P&O.

Paul Scully: The Government has been consistent in condemning the inappropriate use of firing and rehiring tactics during negotiations. As per the Written Statement I made on Tuesday 29 March (HCWS735), the Government will now bring forward statutory code later this year, under section 203 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. The code will be admissible in evidence before a court or Employment Tribunal in England, Scotland and Wales. Where relevant, statutory codes are referred to by employment tribunal judges when deciding the level of award an employee is entitled to. The Government will set out next steps after recess, and will be consulting on the draft code later this year as required by law.

Fish: Retail Trade

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is planning to take to support fish and chip shops; and what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding by the National Federation of Fish Friers that one third of those shops are likely to close in the coming months.

Paul Scully: We recognise the impact the pandemic and inflation is having on businesses of all sizes and the Government is in regular contact with business groups and suppliers to understand the challenges they face and explore ways to protect businesses.This Department is working closely with Defra, who lead on food supply chain and is in regular discussions with the National Federation of Fish Friers to understand better the impacts on hospitality businesses including fish and chip shops.

Diesel Fuel and Petrol: Profits

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what regulatory oversight is in place to reduce profiteering by petrol and diesel providers; and what legislative plans his Department has to increase oversight of the market at this time.

Paul Scully: The Government remains committed to tackling consumer rip-offs and bad business practices, including profiteering. The Competition and Markets Authority monitors firms suspected of profiteering to challenge unjustifiable price increases and stands ready to take enforcement action where there is evidence that competition or consumer protection law has been broken. The Government continues to monitor the operation of consumer markets and keeps all options under review to ensure good value and service for consumers.

Department of Health and Social Care

Health: Research

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to attract students into careers in health research, including cancer research.

Maria Caulfield: The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is the United Kingdom’s largest funder of health and care research training, supporting researchers in all disciplines and at all levels, through personal and infrastructure awards. The NIHR’s total annual spending on research training is estimated at £135 million.The NIHR Academy is responsible for the development and coordination of academic training, career development and research capacity development. It trains and supports the health and social care researchers to tackle complex health and care challenges, including cancer, and complements the NIHR’s investment in research facilities and research delivery workforce.The NIHR provides a range of research training awards and fellowships to provide attractive career opportunities and pathways. These include opportunities for clinical and non-clinical health and social care researchers in all professional backgrounds from pre-doctoral to professorial level across the Integrated Academic Training Programme for doctors and dentists; Personal Fellowships; Health Education England and NIHR Integrated Clinical Academic Training for nurses, midwives, allied health professionals and other non-medical clinicians; and programmes and awards within NIHR Schools. In 2020/21, 2,954 researchers were supported through these awards and fellowships.

Coronavirus: Mortality Rates

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made in trends in the level of covid-19 mortality.

Maggie Throup: The UK Health Security Agency publishes daily data on deaths in England on the COVID-19 dashboard and in the weekly national flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports. Monthly data on mortality in England is also collected for people with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. These reports contain data on mortality rates, including assessments by age, sex, ethnicity, deprivation and geography.In England, recent data shows that mortality rates within 28 days of a positive test steadily declined from the start of 2022, and since late February, vary at approximately 7 to 80 deaths per day. The current stable trend in levels of COVID-19 deaths is consistent across all regions and age-groups up to mid-March 2022.

Mortality Rates: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the trends in the levels of mortality as a result of covid-19 in (a) York and (b) England.

Maggie Throup: As of 17 March 2022, COVID-19 mortality rates within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test continue to decline in York and England.In England, recent data shows that mortality rates within 28 days of a positive test steadily declined from the start of 2022, and since late February, vary at approximately 7 to 80 deaths per day. The current stable trend in levels of COVID-19 deaths is consistent across all regions and age-groups up to mid-March 2022.The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) continues to monitor COVID-19 levels nationally and regionally. UKHSA’s regional teams have regular contact with Directors of Public Health and local authority public health teams to discuss trends in local data and offer guidance regarding measures required to address cases in identified settings.

Dental Services: Children

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of fluoridation on children’s oral health.

Maria Caulfield: The Department recently published ‘Water fluoridation: health monitoring report for England 2022’ which assessed the impact of water fluoridation on children’s oral health. The report found that in areas with a fluoridation scheme in place, five year olds were less likely to experience tooth decay and children and young people were less likely to be admitted to hospital to have decayed teeth removed than in areas without a scheme. These effects were seen at all levels of deprivation with children and young people in the most deprived areas benefitting the most. In the most deprived 20% of areas, the risk of experiencing tooth decay was found to be 25% lower in areas with a fluoridation scheme than in areas without.

Cancer: Diagnosis

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the time taken to diagnose sarcoma cancer.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to reduce the time taken to diagnose sarcoma cancer.

Maria Caulfield: The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ details how the National Health Service will reduce the time taken to diagnose cancer, including sarcoma cancer. The plan aims to return the number of people waiting more than 62 days from an urgent referral for cancer to pre-pandemic levels by March 2023. By March 2024, 75% of patients who have been urgently referred by their general practitioner (GP) for suspected cancer will be diagnosed or have cancer ruled out within 28 days.The NHS is raising awareness of cancer symptoms through the ‘Help us help you’ campaign and locally tailored approaches to increase the number of referrals from GPs. We are investing £2.3 billion to establish up to 160 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) by March 2025. CDCs will provide additional capacity for tests which can assist the diagnosis of sarcoma cancer, such as ultrasounds, magnetic resonance imaging and biopsies. Since July 2021, existing CDCs have provided over 650,000 additional tests.Those diagnosed with sarcoma and with a family history or risk factors can access genomic tests to aid early diagnosis and treatment options. There are also specialist soft tissue sarcoma cancer centres and specialist bone sarcoma centres in England. These centres accept referrals for patients with suspected diagnoses from genomics results or primary or acute care.

Fluoride: Drinking Water

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to undertake (a) public consultation and (b) impact assessments before the authorisation of future fluoridation schemes.

Maria Caulfield: Any future proposals to establish and authorise new water fluoridation schemes would be subject to public consultation. Any such public consultation would also include information on the impact of any proposals on health, the environment and a cost benefit analysis.

Bowel Cancer: Screening

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help increase uptake of bowel screenings.

Maria Caulfield: To improve uptake in the NHS Bowel Screening Programme, NHS England and NHS Improvement have published information to support patients in choosing bowel screening on NHS.UK and GOV.UK. This information is available in different languages both in written and video formats, British Sign Language, easy read versions, large print and braille on request. The National Health Service continues to target communications at national and local level, including through social media, press and partnership work.

Rehabilitation

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support community rehabilitation services to deal with additional demand after the covid-19 outbreak.

Maria Caulfield: The ‘2022/23 priorities and operational planning guidance’ highlighted the transformation of out-of-hospital services, such as community rehabilitation. National funding and increased to core allocations for community services will support systems to provide care for more patients at home, address waiting lists, develop and expand new models of community care and support timely hospital discharge. NHS England and NHS Improvement have prioritised programmes to ensure access to high quality and timely non-acute rehabilitation as close to home and community as possible. Rehabilitation is being embedded as a core community offer which supports recovery and restoration, maintenance and the prevention of deterioration.

Coronavirus: Screening

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for announcing the eligibility criteria for free covid-19 lateral flow testing after 1 April 2022.

Maggie Throup: From 1 April 2022, free universal access to asymptomatic and symptomatic tests for the public in England ended. The Government will continue to provide free symptomatic testing for patients in hospital, for whom a test is required for clinical management or to support treatment pathways. Free testing will be available for people who are eligible for COVID-19 treatments due to a higher risk of becoming seriously ill and those who live or work in high-risk closed settings to minimise outbreaks. Asymptomatic lateral flow testing will continue from April in some high-risk settings where infection can spread rapidly while prevalence is high.

Oral Tobacco: Cardiovascular Diseases

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2022 to Question 112640 on Tobacco: Mortality Rates, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the study published in the Nicotine & Tobacco Research journal in January 2022 which found that snus is not associated with cardiovascular disease.

Maggie Throup: No specific assessment has been made.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the NHS policy of requiring the informed consent of patients, including information about benefits and risks, was applied to patients before they were administered with covid-19 vaccines; and if he will make a statement.

Maggie Throup: Consent to care and treatment is a regulated activity in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2009. Informed consent must be obtained from all patients prior to receiving their COVID-19 vaccine.In addition to a discussion prior to the clinician administering the COVID-19 vaccine, individuals can access guides to vaccination which provide details of the vaccine, how it is administered, possible side effects and other warnings and precautions. This may be provided to the individual as part of the vaccination invitation process, is available online or at the vaccination site. For those not legally competent to consent themselves, alternative arrangements are in place to ensure valid and informed consent is obtained.

Coronavirus: Mortality Rates

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of mechanical and pharmaceutical interventions available to people who are experiencing covid-19 on mortality rates.

Maggie Throup: No recent assessment has been made. However, there is evidence from clinical trials that COVID-19 treatments available in the National Health Service can reduce mortality for hospitalised patients. The data shows that corticosteroids such as dexamethasone have been shown to reduce mortality by 20-35%; immunomodulators such as tocilizimab and sarilumab have been shown to reduce mortality by 24%; and the neutralising monoclonal antibody Ronapreve has been shown to reduce mortality by 20%. Ronapreve is no longer in clinical policy.A number of other treatments including antivirals and antibody therapies are available on an outpatient basis, but the evidence from clinical trials demonstrates reductions in hospitalisation rather than mortality. Based on an assessment of these data, interventions were made available to NHS patients.

Air Pollution

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of current levels of PM2.5 on the health and well-being of over 60s in England.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of current levels of PM2.5 on the health and well-being of under 18s in England.

Maggie Throup: The UK Health Security Agency has not made a specific assessment. However, it is well known that elderly people and children are among the most vulnerable to the effects of air pollution. Long term exposure to air pollution can cause chronic conditions such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases as well as lung cancer, leading to reduced life expectancy. Effects also include adverse birth outcomes, cognitive decline and dementia.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the chief (a) medical officer and (b) scientific officer have made of the potential risks of ending (i) mandatory self-isolation periods, (ii) the provision of NHS testing for covid-19 and (iii) other public health measures from 1 April 2022.

Maggie Throup: We are unable to provide the information requested on internal advice provided to the Government by a range of experts as it would be prejudicial to the effective conduct of public affairs by inhibiting the free and frank provision of advice.

Coronavirus: Screening

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will extend the provision of free (a) PCR and (b) Lateral Flow testing kits for the public beyond 1 April 2021.

Maggie Throup: From 1 April 2022, free access to asymptomatic and symptomatic tests for the public in England will end. The Government will continue to provide free symptomatic testing for patients in hospital, for whom a test is required for clinical management or to support treatment pathways and those eligible for COVID-19 treatments due to their higher risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19.Patients in this higher risk cohort will be contacted directly and sent lateral flow device tests for symptomatic testing and guidance on how to reorder tests. Asymptomatic lateral flow device testing will continue in some high-risk settings where infection can spread rapidly while prevalence is high.

Coronavirus: Screening

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of the changes to the COVID-19 testing system that will come into effect after 1 April 2022 on the ability of vulnerable groups to access (a) covid-19 tests and (b) subsequent antiviral treatment which is dependent on receipt of a positive test.

Maggie Throup: Patients at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19 and who are eligible for treatments will continue to have access to free lateral flow device tests from 1 April. The highest risk patient group will be contacted to confirm their continued access to free testing and will receive lateral flow device tests to use should they become symptomatic. Individuals will also be informed how to reorder further tests. The retention of free testing in this patient group will facilitate continued access to COVID-19 treatments, including antivirals.

Coronavirus: Schools and Teachers

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment has he made of trends in the levels of outbreaks of covid-19 in (a) schools and (b) teaching staff.

Maggie Throup: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has not made a formal assessment. However, the UKHSA monitors the number of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases, incidence per 100,000 population, and testing and positivity rates in the ‘educational-age’ cohorts including nursery, primary school, secondary school and university.In addition, the UKHSA also publishes weekly data on the number of suspected acute respiratory infection outbreaks and confirmed COVID-19 outbreaks reported to Health Protection Teams, by educational setting.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the advice he has received from SAGE, the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Scientific Adviser on plans to remove all covid-19 restrictions.

Maggie Throup: We are unable to provide the information requested on internal advice provided to the Government by a range of experts as it would be prejudicial to the effective conduct of public affairs by inhibiting the free and frank provision of advice.

Wales Office

Travel Requirements: Northern Ireland

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment he has made of the impact on Welsh tourism of the introduction of electronic travel authorisation passes for travel between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Simon Hart: The UK Government is committed to strengthening the security of the UK border by ensuring that everyone wishing to travel to the UK (except British and Irish citizens) has permission to do so in advance of travel.People travel to the UK, including Wales, for a whole host of reasons and while the cost or requirement to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in advance of travel may be a consideration, the experience of other countries with similar schemes shows it is very unlikely to deter a genuine visitor. Obtaining an ETA is likely to incur a very small additional cost for travellers relative to the cost of travel and the benefits of visiting the UK, including Wales; therefore, it is unlikely to deter the majority of visitors. Moreover, the process for obtaining an ETA will be quick and light touch.Many of the UK’s international partners have taken a similar approach to border security, including the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, meaning it is a familiar concept for travellers.

Travel Requirements: Northern Ireland

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on proposals to introduce electronic travel authorisation passes for travel between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Simon Hart: The UK Government is committed to strengthening the security of the UK border by ensuring that everyone wishing to travel to the UK (except British and Irish citizens) has permission to do so in advance of travel. The Government will introduce an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme to close the current gap in advance permissions and to enhance our ability to prevent the travel of those who pose a threat to the UK.The Government has been very clear in emphasising our continuing commitment to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. An important part of this remains an absolute commitment not to operate routine immigration controls on journeys from within the Common Travel Area, with no immigration controls whatsoever on the Ireland-Northern Ireland land border.

Department for Education

Education: Ukraine

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department will issue information to local councils about how the Ukrainian refugee education funding will work.

Mr Robin Walker: We continue to work across government to ensure we are supporting all families and children arriving in the UK from Ukraine. The government has set out the funding tariffs for those arriving on the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme, as below.The funding will be on a per pupil basis for the three phases of education at the following annual rates:Early years (ages 2 to 4) - £3,000Primary (ages 5 to 11) - £6,580Secondary (ages 11 to 18) - £8,755 The department is currently working at pace to develop the methodology and mechanism for the allocation of this education funding for children and young people and will write to local authorities once this work is completed.Further details on funding for this scheme, including the conditions, is available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-guidance-for-councils.

Refugees: Ukraine

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much additional funding his Department plans to allocate to schools for each new pupil who has arrived in the UK via the Homes for Ukraine or Ukraine Family Scheme.

Mr Robin Walker: We continue to work across government to ensure we are supporting all families and children arriving in the UK from Ukraine. The government has set out the funding tariffs for those arriving on the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme, as below.The funding will be on a per pupil basis for the three phases of education at the following annual rates:Early years (ages 2 to 4) - £3,000Primary (ages 5 to 11) - £6,580Secondary (ages 11 to 18) - £8,755 The department is currently working at pace to develop the methodology and mechanism for the allocation of this education funding for children and young people and will write to local authorities once this work is completed.Further details on funding for this scheme, including the conditions, is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-guidance-for-councils.

Special Educational Needs: Coronavirus

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the provision of free covid-19 testing will continue in special education settings after 1 April 2022.

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether educational settings supporting children with SEND will continue to receive Government assistance with funding covid-19 testing after 1 April 2022.

Will Quince: Regular testing in all education and childcare providers, including special schools and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision, ended on 31 March. In the event of a COVID-19 outbreak, a local Health Protection Team might advise a residential SEND setting to re-introduce some time-limited asymptomatic testing for targeted groups of staff and pupils or students (secondary age or above).From 1 April 2022, the UK Health and Security Agency has issued updated guidance on health protection in education and childcare settings. The guidance contains practical advice on managing a range of infections and outlines the steps regarding self-isolation for those with a positive COVID-19 test result.This replaces all guidance previously issued for the children’s social care sector. It is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-protection-in-schools-and-other-childcare-facilities.

National Tutoring Programme: Special Educational Needs

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the National Tutoring Programme Ad Hoc Statistics published in March 2022, how many of the 1,031,000 starts were made by children with SEND.

Mr Robin Walker: The department does not currently hold the break down data for all 1,031,000 starts. The Education Endowment Foundation plans to publish their evaluation of the National Tutoring Programme in the academic year 2020/21 in autumn 2022. This data will include breakdowns of the pupils who received tutoring in the academic year 2020/21, including pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.The department's written ministerial statement of 31 March 2022 gives more detail about the programme. This statement is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-tutoring-programme-simplified-to-reach-as-many-pupils-as-possible.It accompanied the statistical release showing 1.2 million tutoring courses have started since November 2020. This publication is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/national-tutoring-programme/2022-march.

Schools: Energy

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support schools with rising energy costs.

Mr Robin Walker: I refer the hon. Member for Bristol West to the answer I gave on 22 March 2022 to Question 138095 and on 28 March 2022 to Question 145876.The department recognises that schools will be facing cost pressures in the coming months, particularly due to the increase in energy prices. We are looking carefully at how this will impact schools and considering what additional support we can offer. Cost increases should be seen in the wider context of funding and support for schools.

English Language: Education

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional funding will be provided to local authorities or colleges to help ensure that sufficient English language classes are available locally for people who arrived in the UK from Afghanistan in 2021.

Michelle Donelan: We recognise that language skills are crucial to help people integrate into life in England, as well as to break down barriers to work and career progression. That is why we want to support all adults in England to secure the English language skills they need.The department funds English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision for eligible adults aged 19 and over through the Adult Education Budget (AEB).All Afghan adults who are being resettled through the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), will be immediately eligible for Further Education 19+ funding (including ESOL), by virtue of having ‘indefinite leave to remain’ status, as per the current AEB funding rules.In addition, the Home Office provides £850 to local authorities for each adult resettled to the UK under ARAP or ACRS so they can access additional English language tuition in their first year.

Secondary Education: Single Sex Education

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of whether diamond schools in which primary and sixth form provision is coeducational, with girls and boys taught separately between the ages of 11 and 16, are compatible with his Department's guidelines; and whether he has sought legal advice on the compatibility of those schools with the Equality Act 2010.

Mr Robin Walker: It is open to all mixed sex schools to demonstrate how they comply with and apply any relevant statutory exemptions under the Equality Act 2010, where they are separating based on sex. Schools using the ‘diamond school’ model may be complying with the Act, but the onus is on school leaders to demonstrate that they are meeting their duties under the Act.The department has published guidance on gender separation in mixed sex schools here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gender-separation-in-mixed-schools. The guidance is clear that if there is separation by sex, this needs to be justified by school leaders in terms of it why it is allowed under the Act.Where a mixed sex independent school chooses to separate based on sex and this is not permitted under the Act, then it is open to them to divide into two separate single sex schools to regularise their position.

Ministry of Justice

Domestic Abuse: Rehabilitation

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made to assess the potential success of rehabilitation programme, Building Better Relationships.

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps he has taken to assess the potential success of current rehabilitation programme, Becoming New Me.

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps he has taken to assess the potential success of current rehabilitation programme, Resolve.

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps he has taken to assess the potential success of rehabilitation programme, Horizen.

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice,  what recent assessment he has made to assess the potential success of current rehabilitation programme, Thinking Skills Programme.

Kit Malthouse: The design of our rehabilitation programmes is informed by various evaluations of existing and predecessor programmes, and all programmes are subject to ongoing quality assurance and monitoring. More detailed impact evaluations on reoffending programmes require large samples and study of offenders’ behaviour over time and therefore, it can take several years before there is a sufficient sample to produce such findings. We expect to carry out evaluations of the Thinking Skills Programme (TSP) delivered in custody in England and Wales, and to conduct studies to assess Horizon and Becoming New Me Plus (BNM+). For Building Better Relationships (BBR), the Department is currently producing a feasibility study to assess the extent to which BBR can be evaluated in a robust way.The Department published a substantial impact evaluation of the RESOLVE accredited programme in January 2021. This evaluation assessed the programme’s effectiveness as delivered in custody in England and Wales, and can be found by visiting https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/957855/RESOLVE_report.pdf.A supplementary appendix was also published in October 2021 which provided further insight into the circumstances which affected the impact of the programme. This appendix can be found by visiting https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/justice-data-lab-statistics-october-2021.

Prisoners on Remand: Pregnancy

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of pregnant prisoners are on remand.

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of pregnant prisoners are assessed as being at high risk of harm.

Victoria Atkins: Increased data collection is one of a range of reforms we have implemented following our recent policy review and introduction of a new policy framework in September 2021. We now publish data on pregnancies in prisons annually, in the HMPPS Annual Digest here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1047456/Ch_11_MBU_FINAL.ods.The latest data was published 29 July 2021 and covers the period July 2020-March 2021. This includes women sentenced and remanded to custody, and women in all risk categories.

Prisons: Publications

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether prisons prevent or restrict friends and family of prisoners sending them books and magazines from (a) Amazon and (b) other sellers.

Victoria Atkins: We appreciate the essential role books play in prison and the value they hold for prisoners, particularly where restricted regimes are in place that may mean prisoners are spending more time in their cells. We also recognise how important they are for rehabilitation purposes. The Incentives Policy Framework (IPF) outlines a list of 9 approved retailers from which family and friends can send books into prisoners; this list does not currently include Amazon. The approved retailers scheme is often a more efficient method of getting books to prisoners and helps to reduce demand on searching procedures. However, family and friends of prisoners are not restricted to using this route and are free to send books to prisoners directly or hand them in at social visits. The IPF directs Governors to ensure there are procedures in place to check books for illicit enclosures. For magazines there is a different arrangement, separate to the approved retailer scheme. At the discretion of the establishment, they can only be purchased by prisoners through the use of local supplier agreements using their private cash or prison earnings.

Prisons: Visits

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of prisons have resumed family days following the covid-19 outbreak.

Victoria Atkins: We do not collect data centrally on which prisons hold family days. Anyone wishing to visit a prisoner should consult the following link to determine what facilities are available for doing so: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/prisons-in-england-and-wales. HMPPS continues to fund contracted family service providers to support prisons in delivering family days subject to local restrictions within the prison. Our strategy for managing Covid-19 in prisons continues to be guided by our National Framework, which sets out the basis for decisions on the necessary level of Covid controls over time. All prisons in England and Wales have resumed social visits when safe to do so.

Prisoners: Video Conferencing

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what amount of entitlement to free video calls prisoners receive; and how that amount was decided.

Victoria Atkins: Secure social video calling was introduced in all prisons across England and Wales as an emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic to maintain family ties when social visits were limited in prisons. To offer fair and equal access, all prisoners are offered one 30-minute video call per month at no cost to them or their families as an alternative form of social contact. Additional video calls may also be offered at local discretion. We are committed to continue providing secure social video calling as an additional method of communication, in line with our commitment in the Prisons Strategy White Paper and we will use lessons learnt from the roll out during the pandemic to inform future long-term policy direction.

Prisoners: Suicide

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of prison officers are trained in suicide prevention.

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of prison officers in the prison estate have received training in trauma informed practice.

Victoria Atkins: The Prison Officer Entry Level Training Exceptional Delivery Model has been reviewed and has moved to a Level 3 Custody & Detention Apprenticeship in 2021/22 which enhances practical skills and is in line with adult learning principles and reflective practice which all new prisons officers complete. During the foundation training element there is an 8-week period of learning at a designated site prior to commencing duties at an establishment. The apprenticeship lasts between 12-15 months with support provided by apprenticeship coaches as well as line managers, located in prisons. During the 8-week learning period, there are dedicated sessions on Trauma Informed and Suicide Prevention which all learners must complete to become a fully trained Prison Officer as this is mandatory learning.

Prisoners: Training

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners began training courses in prison in the last year.

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners completed courses in prison last year.

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the proportion of prisoners entering prison without qualifications who leave with improved literacy in the last five years.

Victoria Atkins: From April 2021 until 28 March 2022, 42,657 prisoners started 107,076 courses in total. In the same time period, 42,574 prisoners completed 104,827 courses in total. Information on the proportion of prisoners entering prison without qualifications and who leave with improved literacy in the last five years could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Information on participation and outcomes for prisoners in English and Maths is published. Statistics for 2018 to 2020 were released last August and can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-education-statistics-2019-2020. Through our Prisons Strategy White Paper, we will deliver a Prisoner Education Service that raises levels of numeracy and literacy – helping offenders to gain the skills and qualifications needed to secure jobs or apprenticeships on release and in turn reducing reoffending.

Probation: Career Development

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on average how many years experience senior probation officers have prior to their appointment.

Kit Malthouse: Based on existing data and bearing in mind the creation of the National Probation Service (NPS) on 1st June 2014; the average length of service for Senior Probation Officers prior to promotion to the Senior Probation Officers grade in HM Prison and Probation Service in the year 2020/21 was 6.3 years. However, given the data limitations mentioned above this is an under estimation as it does not take into account experience staff gained working in Probation Trusts before NPS was formed.

Offender Assessment System

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Offender Assessment System (OASys) in probation.

Kit Malthouse: OASys is the core risk assessment tool for HMPPS and was built on the existing evidence base in the literature and piloted prior to its implementation in 2001. The intention was that, as the evidence base developed, the System would be improved over time. A continuing research programme has assisted in the development of OASys following implementation, helping to ensure that it remains a valid and reliable tool for assessing offenders’ risk.The first OASys research compendium (Debdin, 2009) presented the findings from research and analysis completed between 2006 and 2009. This contributed to some important revisions to OASys: A compendium of research and analysis on the Offender Assessment System (OASys) 2006-2009 (cep-probation.org).A second research compendium (Moore, 2015) presents the OASys studies completed between 2009 and 2013, including a systematic review of the underlying evidence base, a survey of assessors’ views and experiences, and analyses of various aspects of reliability and validity: A compendium of research and analysis on the Offender Assessment System (OASys), 2009–2013 (publishing.service.gov.uk). The OASys Sexual reoffending Predictor was introduced after the compendium was written, and the evaluation of that tool is also available: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/955345/comparing-2-predictors-sexual-recidivism.pdf.

Probation: Health Services

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has for the provision of clinical supervision to probation officers.

Kit Malthouse: Rather than offer structured supervision provision for probation staff, we deliver one-to-one ‘Reflective Sessions’. Reflective Sessions, formerly called Structured Professional Support, have been in place for probation staff since 2018. The sessions are delivered by qualified professionals from the incumbent Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) provider, provides a safe space to discuss the impact of difficult cases, challenging casework and other impactful aspects of their role. The sessions are not counselling but a preventative measure that focuses on the impact of work on one’s professional life, assisting to further develop coping strategies for managing stress and mitigating the professional impact of working with offenders. Furthermore, Reflective Sessions assists in considering aspects of probation work that may trigger challenging emotional responses and explore additional strategies for managing these. Furthermore, Reflective Sessions explores and considers the qualities and strengths the employee brings to work, the specific stressors of their work and what strategies are most beneficial to support them. We have expanded the service to account for the increased staff count following unification of probation and simplified the booking process to make these sessions more easily accessible to all staff.

Probation: Training

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of staff employed on the Probation Officer Training PQUIPP programme complete that training.

Kit Malthouse: The most recent group to complete the Professional Qualification in Probation (PQiP), commencing June 2020 and ending in September 2021, shows a completion rate of 87.3% nationally.

Department for International Trade

Trade: Russia

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of UK sanctions on Russia in reducing international trade with that country.

Mike Freer: In coordination with our allies, we are introducing the largest and most severe economic sanctions that Russia has ever faced. The expected impact of trade sanctions are available alongside the relevant legislation: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2022/195/impacts. We do not speculate on future sanctions.

Import Duties: USA

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department is taking to lift US tariffs on imports from the UK.

Penny Mordaunt: It is a government priority to make UK-US trade easier, quicker and more cost effective. The UK and US have worked together to remove harmful trade irritants, such as resolving the long-running Large Civil Aircraft dispute and agreeing to terminate the Section 301 investigation and suspend tariffs relating to the Digital Services Tax.On 22 March, we secured an expansive removal of Section 232 tariffs on US imports of UK steel and aluminium. From 1 June, the US will remove the 25% and 10% additional duties on UK steel and aluminium respectively, up to a specified volume. This will bring welcome relief to the UK steel and aluminium industries which support the jobs of around 80,000 people across the UK supply chain. This clears the way for us to focus on strengthening the UK-US trading relationship, for example through our recently launched UK US Joint Dialogues on the Future of Atlantic Trade.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Zimbabwe: Climate Change and Food Supply

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the impact of climate change on food supply in Zimbabwe.

Vicky Ford: Zimbabwe is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the severe impacts of climate change and extreme weather. Despite a good harvest in 2021, 2.9 million people in rural and urban areas were classified as food insecure from October 2021 to April 2022. The 2021-22 agricultural season has so far been marked by erratic rains and the 2022 harvest, particularly maize, will likely be substantially lower than the 2021 harvest.Since 2019 the UK has committed £49 million through the Zimbabwe Humanitarian and Resilience Programme (ZHARP), managed by the UN World Food Programme, to provide food aid and cash transfers to the poorest and most vulnerable Zimbabweans. In 2020, 413,000 extremely vulnerable people received UK funded food assistance in rural areas. The UK is helping reduce overall food insecurity and reliance on food aid by supporting climate-smart agriculture, solar irrigation, increased productivity and better nutrition and dietary diversity.

Crimes against Humanity

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which Minister within her Department has responsibility for the UK’s Atrocity Prevention policy.

Vicky Ford: Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) Minister of State for South Asia, North Africa, the United Nations and the Commonwealth, has oversight of work on atrocity prevention policy. He is also the Prime Minister's Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict. The FCDO works closely with other government departments to formulate policy on atrocity prevention.

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Security

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Vicky Ford: The security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is concerning. The UK is committed to supporting efforts to build stability and reduce violence in the country. Particularly concerning is the protection of civilians in the East, especially following recent attacks on the Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps in Ituri and the recent increase in killings by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), as well as the recent re-emergence of the armed group the M23 in the Rwanda/Uganda/DRC border zone. We continue to liaise extensively with MONUSCO on their deployments to improve security, and engage bilaterally with the Government of DRC and regionally on the security situation in the East.

Sudan: Food Supply

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Special Report 2021 FAO Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission to the Sudan, published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on 21 March 2022, what steps she is taking to prevent acute hunger in Sudan over the next six months.

Vicky Ford: We are concerned at the food insecurity situation in Sudan as highlighted by the 21 March Food and Agriculture Organization report. The World Food Programme (WFP) has subsequently estimated that up to 20 million people will face "emergency" or "crisis" levels of acute food insecurity in 2022. To help address this in 2021 we contributed £27 million to humanitarian assistance, via partners including the WFP, the UN-led Sudan Humanitarian Fund, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other non-governmental organisations. In 2021 our funding provided approximately 1.2 million people with lifesaving assistance (such as food, cash and voucher support, safe drinking water, shelter and sanitation), including providing over 500,000 vulnerable children with free school meals.The overwhelming driver of current food insecurity in Sudan is the political and economic crisis. Since the military coup in October 2021, Ministers, British Embassy staff in Khartoum and senior FCDO officials have encouraged all Sudanese political actors to engage in the next phase of talks facilitated by the UN and African Union to resolve the crisis. This includes maintaining pressure on the military to engage in dialogue and deliver economic security; a message delivered on 3 March in meetings with Sudan's military leadership in Khartoum by senior FCDO officials.

Sudan: Human Rights

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the US sanctions on the Central Reserve Police of Sudan for its involvement in serious human rights abuses, announced on 21 March 2022, what steps she is taking to hold that organisation and other security service organisations in Sudan to account for serious human rights violations.

Vicky Ford: We remain concerned at the political crisis and continued violent repression of protesters in Sudan. The US is right to condemn Sudan's Central Reserve Police for their use of excessive use of force against protesters. We will continue to consider all options to maintain pressure on the Sudanese security forces, including the possibility of sanctions. We would not normally speculate about future sanctions targets as to do so could reduce their impact.We continue to press the Sudanese military to allow peaceful protests, protect human rights and deliver accountability for past violations. This message was delivered directly by senior FCDO officials to Sudan's military leadership on 3 March in Khartoum.

Conflict, Stability and Security Fund and Office for Conflict, Stabilisation and Mediation

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans she has for the (a) work of the Office for Conflict Stabilisation and Mediation and (b) future resourcing of the Conflict Stability and Security Fund.

Vicky Ford: On the work of the Office for Conflict Stabilisation and Mediation, we are witnessing a profound geopolitical shift following Russia's unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine. The FCDO is adapting its internal leadership arrangements and structures to ensure it is equipped to meet immediate and long-term global challenges. Implications for specific Directorates and teams are under review.On the future resourcing of the Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), the Spending Review 2021 provides a three-year settlement of £2.65 billion to the cross-government CSSF. The Fund is managed by the Cabinet Office and yearly allocations are signed off by the National Security Council.

South Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the risk of a generalised breakdown of the 2018 peace deal in South Sudan; and what recent steps she has taken to support conflict resolution efforts in that country.

Vicky Ford: There have been recent reports of violence in South Sudan, including clashes between the two main Parties to the 2018 Peace Agreement. For now the Parties have stated that they remain committed to peace, but there remains a risk of miscalculation and further violence. On 23 March I [Minister Ford] urged all parties to de-escalate, condemning the violence and calling on the Government of South Sudan to exercise leadership and oversight of the nation's security forces. With our international partners we continue to deliver these messages and press the Parties to deliver their commitments. Through our Embassies and High Commissions we will also encourage the region, as guarantors of the Peace Agreement, to use their influence with the Parties to deliver peace.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Homosexuality

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to announce the name of the Chair of the Independent Review into the impact of the pre-2000 ban on homosexual personnel in the military.

Leo Docherty: We hope to be in a position to announce the Chair of the Independent Review in the near future.

Ministry of Defence: Public Expenditure

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will detail the losses and special payments valued at under £300,000 for his departmental group as defined by section A4.10.7 in HM Treasury's Managing Public Money for (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.

Jeremy Quin: The losses and special payments valued at under £300,000 for the departmental group for the years 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 as already held on the record of losses for the public sector organisations within the departmental group, in accordance with Managing Public Money (Annex A4.10.7), or as otherwise held for the purposes of special payment disclosures, are set out below. These disclosures are consistent with the organisations' obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018. 2018-19Total Losses: 129.89 millionTotal Special Payments: 9.911 million2019-20Total Losses: 35.847 millionTotal Special Payments: 14.073 million2020-21Total Losses: 82.100 millionTotal Special Payments: 4.764 million

RAF Fylingdales

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how the reported purchase of the (a) Ballistic Missile Defence Radar and (b) Command and Battle Management and Communications equipment for  RAF Fylingdales is being funded.

Jeremy Quin: While the Ballistic Missile Defence Programme remains in the Assessment Phase we are unable to confirm specific locations of the Radar or Command and Battle Management and Communications equipment. On successful completion of the Assessment Phase, the expected method of funding is from the Air Command equipment budget and further provision in the wider MOD 10-year Equipment Plan.

Armed Forces: Families

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he will publish the action plan for the UK Armed Forces Families Strategy in order to implement the agreed recommendations of the independent report commissioned by his Department, Living in our shoes; and if he will make a statement.

Leo Docherty: The Armed Forces (AF) Families Plan is derived from both the Defence Plan, and the AF Families Strategy (the latter of which was published on 19 January 2022). Like the AF Families Strategy, the AF Families Plan reflects - but is not exclusively driven by - the commitments in the Government's response to my hon. Friend's comprehensive and insightful report 'Living in our Shoes'. The Plan provides direction to those organisations with policy and/or delivery responsibilities related to Armed Forces families, wherever those families are based across the world. The Plan is dynamic and will be updated routinely to reflect changes in the wider context, and the continuous development and improvement in families-related policy and delivery. Although the Plan will provide essential coherence, it is important to note that many of the key actions within the Plan are already being delivered through existing measures and will now be absorbed within it. We will shortly be publishing a high level version of the plan [on gov.uk] and we will be including implementation updates through the Covenant Annual Report.

Veterans: Employment

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the commitment in the Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan 2022-24 to revamp the Career Transition Partnership in 2023, what changes to the existing system that will involve.

Leo Docherty: The Career Transition Partnership (CTP) is a contracted service between the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Right Management Ltd which manages the Armed Forces resettlement support to all Regular Service leavers and runs until October 2023. A new contract will be required to provide resettlement services from that date. MOD officials have now commenced the programme to relet the CTP from October 2023. A full programme of stakeholder engagement events has been scheduled with key external and internal stakeholders to shape the Statement of Requirement for the new contract. The contract notice for formal market engagement will be issued no later than 30 June 2022 and it is from this point that the commercial tendering process will begin. MOD officials cannot confirm changes to the existing provision until the tendering process has been completed and the contract has been awarded.

Armed Forces: HIV Infection

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether people living with HIV are able to serve as military Aircrew and Air Traffic Controllers.

Leo Docherty: Those living with HIV can serve as Aircrew and Air Traffic Controllers, although some individuals may be limited in some aspects of their employment. This is the case with any medical condition, where individuals will be assessed and medically graded on a case-by-case basis.

Armed Forces: HIV Infection

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2022 to Question 136649 on Armed Forces: HIV infection, for what reason the updated policy cannot be published before August 2022.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2022 to Question 136649 on Armed Forces: HIV infection, what the reasons are for the current ban on PrEP use in Aircrew and Air Traffic Controllers.

Leo Docherty: Seemingly innocuous medication side effects can have serious safety implications in the military aviation context. Consequently, approving medication use in aviation is a rigorous, evidence-based process involving a number of pharmacists, medical and aviation experts. The process ensures benchmarking with other military organisations and civilian counterparts. This extensive process is currently underway to approve PrEP and it is expected to result in revised policy being published in August 2022. The aspiration is to publish sooner if possible and the process is currently being advanced to achieve this.

Department for Work and Pensions

Kickstart Scheme

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Kickstart scheme placements have been (a) approved, (b) advertised and (c) started by young people by (i) nation, (ii) region and (iii) sector as of 31 March 2022.

Mims Davies: As of the 31st March 2022, around 160,000 Kickstart jobs have been started by young people. The last Kickstart jobs were started by young people on this date and we expect the number of starts to increase further as employers report commencement of employment.We have previously published the number of jobs approved and advertised as of 31st January, here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2022-01-31/114956. At that point, over 235,000 jobs had been advertised and over 305,000 had been approved. Kickstart has now closed to employer applications and as of March, all approved jobs proceeding to the advertisement stage, have been advertised. As such, these totals will not increase further.Below are tables listing the number of Kickstart jobs which have been made available and started by young people to date by geographical area of Great Britain and work sector. The figures used are correct as of the 31st March 2022 and these figures have been rounded according to departmental standards.Jobs made available (advertised) and job starts quoted here include some unfunded Kickstart jobs. Also included in the Great Britain total are a small number of jobs made available (less than 100 in total) that have an unrecorded job location.The number of approved jobs is defined as the number of jobs associated with approved applications recorded on the Kickstart application system on the date above. This total excludes approved jobs that have been withdrawn from the Kickstart Scheme by agreement with employers and gateways. This is generally because, over time, some previously approved jobs were removed where the employer chose not to follow up the application.Although care is taken when processing and analysing Kickstart applications, referrals and starts, the data collected might be subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system, which has been developed quickly.The management information presented here has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics but is provided in the interests of transparency. Work is ongoing to improve the quality of information available for the programme. Table 1: Number of Kickstart total available jobs and job starts, Great Britain, by nation and region (figures rounded to nearest 100*)Region / Nation SplitTotal jobs made availableTotal jobs started (DATA RETAINED FROM 31/01/22)(DATA EFFECTIVE 31/03/22)   Total, Great Britain235,000159,800   England204,000137,600East Midlands14,00010,200East of England18,00011,600London51,00032,100North East11,0007,900North West30,00020,300South East26,00017,100South West14,0009,700West Midlands21,00015,400Yorkshire and The Humber19,00013,400Scotland19,00014,000Wales12,0007,800 Table 2: Number of Kickstart total available jobs and job starts, Great Britain, by Sector (figures rounded to the nearest 10*)Sector SplitTotal jobs made availableTotal jobs started (DATA RETAINED FROM 31/01/22)(DATA EFFECTIVE 31/03/22)Administration57,35039,370Animal Care1,6101,300Beauty & Wellbeing1,7201,310Business & Finance8,5005,830Computing Technology & Digital15,84012,210Construction & Trades7,2305,100Creative & Media20,99016,480Delivery & Storage6,3804,370Emergency & Uniform Services520340Engineering & Maintenance7,0804,800Environment & Land4,6203,400Government Services1,000690Healthcare6,1403,350Home Services1,560890Hospitality & Food26,38013,780Law & Legal650510Managerial960650Manufacturing6,4304,360Retail & Sales34,97026,060Science & Research990770Social Care4,7402,580Sports & Leisure5,9204,030Teaching & Education11,0006,670Transport900460Travel & Tourism1,110570 * Due to rounding, sum of figures may not match declared total

Sector-based Work Academy Programme

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many sector-based work academy programme starts there were up to the latest date for which information is available.

Mims Davies: Sector-Based Work Academies were first launched in August 2011 in England and January 2012 in Scotland. Regular statistical releases on Sector-Based Work Academies, covering participation by those on legacy unemployment benefits, began in 2011 and ended in 2017. These statistics can be found here. The scheme was relaunched as the Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP) in July 2020 as part of the government’s Plan for Jobs. Data for the financial years 2020/21 and 2021/22 shows that as of 27th March 2022, there was a total of 149,980 starts to a SWAP. The breakdown of these starts by financial year is displayed in the following table: Table 1: SWAP starts Starts FY 2020/21Starts FY 2021/22 – to 27th MarchTotal StartsTotal SWAP Starts64,50085,480149,980 Note on above: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10; components may not sum due to rounding. These figures reflect the number of starts by claimants in receipt of Universal Credit (UC), Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Income Support (IS).

Disability Living Allowance: Medical Examinations

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the total cost of assessments for disability living allowance in each of the last five years.

Chloe Smith: The total cost of assessments for Disability Living Allowance are provided below:  DLA (£m)2016/1736.392017/1839.012018/1930.652019/2028.222020/2123.48   The following points should be noted: The figures represent the operational costs of delivering Disability Living Allowance. This is how we have interpreted the request for the “Total Costs of Assessments”. The cost figures quoted are estimated DWP level 1 operating costs, including both direct delivery staff and non-staff costs. Non-staff costs are only those costs incurred in local cost centres, relating to direct delivery staff. Please note that the data supplied is from the Departmental Activity Based Models. This data is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standards. It should therefore be treated with caution. The Departmental Activity Based staffing models are a snapshot of how many people were identified as undertaking specified activities as assigned by line managers.Appeals are a joint process between DWP and HM Courts and Tribunals Service (part of Ministry of Justice). DWP do not handle tribunals for appeals; the cost of handling appeal tribunals sits with HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and we do not hold their cost information. The figures quoted therefore exclude these costs.

Universal Credit: Inflation

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made on the projected spending power of universal credit as a result of rising inflation.

David Rutley: No assessment has been made. The Secretary of State undertakes an annual review of benefits and pensions. This is based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the year to September (published by the Office for National Statistics in October) as the latest figure that the Secretary of State can use to allow sufficient time for the required legislative and operational changes to be made before new rates can be introduced at the start of the new financial year. All benefit up-rating since April 1987 has been based on the increase in the relevant price inflation index in the 12 months to the previous September, as happens now. For up-rating 2022/23 the Secretary of State announced the outcome of her annual review to Parliament on 25 November 2021 and from April 2022 benefits and pensions will increase by 3.1%.

Universal Credit Complex Needs Steering Group

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2021 to Question 185273, if she will place copies of the (a) agendas, (b) papers and (c) minutes of meetings of her Department’s Universal Credit Complex Needs Steering Group in the House of Commons Library.

David Rutley: The departments Complex Needs Steering group was disbanded in 2019, any documents relating to it have been destroyed in line with DWP document retention policy.

Universal Credit Complex Needs Steering Group

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which (a) DWP Directorates, (b) other Government departments and (c) non-government representatives sit on her Department’s Universal Credit Complex Needs Steering Group.

David Rutley: The departments Complex Needs Steering group was disbanded in 2019.

Universal Credit

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that the cap for the childcare element of universal credit reflects rising costs of childcare.

David Rutley: We know that for some UC claimants’, the cost of childcare makes it more difficult to enter work. To support parents to start work, eligible UC claimants can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month regardless of the number of hours they work. This is higher than under tax credits, which reimbursed up to 70%. This is up to the maximum amount of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children. For families with two children, this could be worth up to £13,000 a year. Currently we do not have any plans to increase the childcare caps but continue to keep the policy under review. In cases where people need to pay for childcare upfront, prior to starting work, Work Coaches can use the Flexible Support Fund for eligible claimants to meet these costs until their first wage is received. The UC childcare policy aligns with the wider government childcare offer in England and there are similar funded early learning offers in devolved nations. The free childcare offer provides 15 hours a week of free childcare in England for all 3 and 4 year olds and disadvantaged 2 year olds, doubling for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds to 30 hours a week. The UC childcare element can be used to top up a claimant’s eligible free childcare hours if more hours are worked and childcare required.

Universal Credit Complex Needs Steering Group

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference the difficulties vulnerable claimants were having with Universal Credit that was discussed at the Universal Credit Programme Board meeting on 22nd October 2019, if she will provide an update on the Complex Needs Steering Group’s progress in tracking an implementing the recommendations of the PMIU report.

David Rutley: I refer the Rt Hon member to the answer I gave to Question Number 20326.

Work Capability Assessment: Cancer

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of delays in the work capability assessment process for claimants who are living with cancer.

Chloe Smith: Supporting all claimants, including those living with cancer, remains an absolute priority for the department. We are committed to assessing claimants as quickly as possible in order that they receive the benefits and support they are entitled to in a timely manner. The Capability for Work questionnaire incorporates a 'light touch' evidence gathering process for people who are having, waiting for or recovering from chemotherapy or radiotherapy. We would expect that most claimants to whom this applies would be assessed using the paper evidence provided by the claimant and/or their treating clinician. However, in cases where the evidence does not support any debilitating effects of treatment, they may need to attend a telephone, video or face to face assessment.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Fertilisers: Prices

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of rising fertiliser prices on (a) wheat and (b) other food crop production in (a) 2022 and (b) future years.

Victoria Prentis: The situation and impacts on farmers in particular, and industry more widely, of increasing fuel prices, are being monitored closely. Defra is in regular contact with key industry figures including the National Farmers Union, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and key sector representatives. The Government has announced steps to assist farmers with the availability of fertilisers to address uncertainty amongst growers and keep costs down for farmers, such as delaying changes to the use of urea fertiliser by at least a year to help farmer manage costs in light of pressure on the supply of ammonium nitrate fertilisers. Alongside revised and improved statutory guidance on the use of slurry and other manures during autumn and winter, we have introduced new slurry storage grants to help farmers meet the Farming Rules for Water and reducing dependence on artificial fertilisers by storing organic nutrients until needed or for onward processing. In addition, further details of the Sustainable Farming Incentive have also been published. Given current fertiliser prices, the priority must be to pioneer new technologies to manufacture more organic-based fertiliser products, and rediscover. The Government will pay farmers to help them with the costs of sowing nitrogen fixing plants and green manures in their crops or in advance of their crops to substitute some of their fertiliser requirements for the coming season and reduce their dependence on manufactured fertilisers linked to the price of gas. Last week I chaired an industry fertiliser roundtable to continue to work on these issues, identify solutions and better understand the impact of current pressures on farmers. In addition, Defra is extending the membership of its longstanding Market Monitoring Group, which involves industry expertise to understand trends in markets. We understand from industry intelligence that the vast majority of fertiliser needs for this planting season have been met. The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain that has coped well in responding to unprecedented challenges. We speak regularly with food industry figures, who remain confident in the food supply chain.

Seed Potatoes: Russia

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to prevent the export of seed potatoes to Russia.

Victoria Prentis: The UK Government is delivering the largest package of sanctions in our history, cutting off funding to Putin's war machine. I welcome commitments already made by several seed potato exporters to divest from Russian exports. I am urging firms to think very carefully about further investments in Russia; I am clear that there is no case for new investment in Russia.

Environmental Land Management Schemes

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is on track to meet the timeframe for the delivery of the Environment Land Management schemes and Agricultural Transition Plan this year; and if he will make a statement.

Victoria Prentis: We have implemented our Agricultural Transition Plan in England and made great progress in working with farmers to design a better system for farm payments which incentivises sustainable farming, creates space for nature and enhances animal welfare outcomes. We are introducing the changes over a seven-year period to allow everyone time to adapt.The Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot is already live. We have just published final details on the standards, and will open the scheme for early rollout of core elements of the Sustainable Farming Incentive in Summer 2022, to allow us to make the first SFI payments before the end of the year. We have already launched the application process for the first round of Landscape Recovery projects, and this will be open until 24 May 2022. Local Nature Recovery is planned to begin a phased rollout from 2023.Alongside this, we’ve already improved Countryside Stewardship, launched the Farming in Protected Landscapes grant funding scheme, as well as a £52 million Farming Investment Fund to boost productivity, and set out further details for our Animal health and welfare pathway.This week we have also announced a package to support farmers through the growing season, helping businesses to work through the current fertiliser issues we are facing this year.

Nature Conservation

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the findings of the RSPB report, A Lost Decade for Nature, that the UK has missed 17 of the 20 Aichi biodiversity targets set in 2010 by the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, how he plans to (a) deliver the outcomes contained in the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature, signed by the Prime Minister on 28 September 2020, and (b) restore the damage to nature in the UK by 2030, against a baseline of 2020, as proposed by the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill.

Rebecca Pow: UK progress against the existing Aichi Targets was most recently set out in the UK's 6th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity, submitted in March 2019. The report can be found at: https://jncc.gov.uk/our-work/united-kingdom-s-6th-national-report-to-the-convention-on-biological-diversity/The UK is committed to playing a leading role in developing an ambitious post-2020 global biodiversity framework, to be adopted at COP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity later this year, to deliver the ambition committed to in the Leaders Pledge for Nature. The UK will be advocating for ambitious global targets to bend the curve of biodiversity loss by 2030, including targets to ensure at least 30% of the land and of the ocean is protected, ecosystems are restored, species population sizes are recovering, and extinctions are halted by 2050.We have taken a significant number of actions to deliver these commitments domestically and restore nature, including the passing of the landmark Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries Acts and publishing the England Tree and Peat Action Plans. We are currently consulting on new long-term, legally binding environmental targets, including to halt nature’s decline by 2030 and then reverse that decline. We also set out proposals in the Nature Recovery Green Paper to improve our system of site and species protections to help restore nature and deliver our commitment to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030. The Environmental Land Management schemes (Sustainable Farming Incentive, Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery) will be a major tool in delivering our environmental targets.The UK has committed to spend at least £3 billion of our International Climate Finance on climate change solutions that protect and restore nature and biodiversity over five years from 2021 to 2026. Domestically, our Nature for Climate Fund is providing more than £750 million over the course of this Parliament and will support a significant increase in afforestation across England and help to restore 35,000ha of peatland by 2025. We are also extending protections on land and sea, placing the UK at the forefront of marine protection with 372 Marine Protected Areas covering 38% of UK waters.We will be publishing a refreshed 25 Year Environment Plan in January 2023, which is also an Environmental Improvement Plan under the Environment Act, setting out the further steps we will take to deliver our commitment to leave the environment in a better state than we found it.

Home Office

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending eligibility for the Homes for Ukraine scheme to Ukrainian nationals who lived in Belarus prior to 1 January 2022.

Kevin Foster: This Government has made clear its support for Ukrainians fleeing in fear of their lives clear by introducing the Ukraine Family Scheme and Homes for Ukraine Scheme.The Homes for Ukraine scheme will allow individuals, charities, community groups and businesses in the UK to bring Ukrainians to safety.To qualify for the Scheme a person must be Ukrainian, or the immediate family member of a Ukrainian national, have been residing in Ukraine on or immediately before 1 January 2022 (including those who have now left Ukraine).The Government has no plans to extend the eligibility beyond this cohort.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Homes for Ukraine visa sponsorship applications have been successful to date.

Kevin Foster: The scheme has only been running for a short period so far; details on the number of visas issued will be released in due course.

Radicalism: Islam

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the threat to the UK posed by Shia Islamist extremism.

Damian Hinds: The UK’s counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST, seeks to reduce the risk from all forms of terrorism. The current terrorism threat level to the UK is SUBSTANTIAL, meaning an attack is likely.

Fraud: Foreign Nationals

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to track foreign nationals who have defrauded UK citizens; and what role INTERPOL plays in identifying criminals and taking action in other states when a UK citizen has been defrauded.

Damian Hinds: The Government take fraud very seriously and are committed to tackling it. The Home Secretary regularly engages with her international counterparts to build collaboration against this and other crime types. International collaboration on fraud includes the work of the National Crime Agency, the Serious Fraud Office and City of London Police as the national lead force for fraud. Both partner with law enforcement and industry to combat fraud from overseas jurisdictions. Together they have recently implemented a new tasking and coordination process to ensure the most serious and organised fraudsters are targeted effectively. UK authorities continue to work with their international counterparts on a case-by-case basis to target criminals responsible for defrauding members of the public and businesses. Law enforcement in the UK work closely with both INTERPOL and Europol to share information with international partners and facilitate collaborative work to tackle fraud where it exists across borders.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the threat to the UK posed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the threat to the UK posed by organisations linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Damian Hinds: We do not routinely comment on intelligence matters or specific threats. The safety and security of our citizens is the Government’s top priority. As we made clear in the 2021 Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, we are committed to addressing growing threats from Iran, as well as other states. We will continue to use all tools at our disposal to protect the UK and our interests from any Iran-linked threats.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Housing Improvement: Noise

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department's retrofit strategy to upgrade all homes to net zero by 2050, whether he plans to retrofit all homes with soundproofing.

Stuart Andrew: The Building Regulations 2010, Part E, Schedule 1 (Approved Document E) requires both new build and change of use dwellings (including residential properties under permitted development) to offer protection against sound from other parts of the building and adjoining premises. There is no intention to extend the scope of the existing Building Regulations at this time.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to help ensure Northern Ireland's place in the Union.

Conor Burns: This Government is steadfastly committed to Northern Ireland’s integral place in the United Kingdom, and will never be neutral on the Union. We will continue to strengthen the Union by making Northern Ireland a better place to live and work for all parts of the community, and by building a stronger, more shared and inclusive society. The Government firmly believes that the Union is strongest when all its people can see and feel its benefits in their everyday lives, and that is why we will continue to work tirelessly to deliver for Northern Ireland just as we are seeking to level up every part of this United Kingdom. This is demonstrated through our commitment to invest over £3.5 billion across Northern Ireland via the New Deal for NI, City Deals, PEACE Plus and the financial package laid out in the New Decade, New Approach agreement, and our support for skills, communities and local infrastructure. The Government also continues to work with partners to ensure Northern Ireland’s future is safe and secure, that there is equality of opportunity for all its people and to ensure an open and tolerant society for the benefit of everyone.

UK Relations with EU: Northern Ireland

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment his Department has made of ongoing negotiations with the EU on peace in Northern Ireland.

Conor Burns: Political differences in Northern Ireland, as throughout the whole United Kingdom, should be resolved peacefully and not used as an excuse for violence. The Government is clear that the Protocol's fundamental purpose is to uphold the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement in all its dimensions - yet it is clear that it is undermining them all. Maintaining peace and stability in Northern Ireland, and protecting the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement will always be our top priority. We continue to focus on finding solutions to these issues and our preference remains a negotiated solution with the EU. The need for solutions is urgent.

Tourism Ireland: Finance

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether the Government plans to provide financial support to Tourism Ireland.

Conor Burns: Tourism is a devolved responsibility in Northern Ireland, and funding for tourism is a matter for Northern Ireland Executive ministers. Tourism Ireland is funded by both the Irish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive, and the Executive has substantial resources available to it to deliver public services. The Government announced in the 2021 Spending Review that it is providing the Executive with £15 billion per year over the next three years, the largest funding settlement for Northern Ireland since devolution.

Belfast Agreement: Anniversaries

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what events his Department is organising to mark the 24th anniversary of the signing of the Belfast Agreement on 10 April 1998.

Conor Burns: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland will mark the 24th anniversary with a message to people in Northern Ireland via social media which reflects on the significant progress that has been made since the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement was signed and the transformative role it has played in making Northern Ireland a great place to live, work and do business. Preparations are also underway to mark the historic milestone of the 25th anniversary in 2023 appropriately and give it the recognition it deserves. Further details will be announced in due course.

Treasury

Treasury: Staff

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the size of his Department's Group’s total full time equivalent headcount was at the end of financial years (a) 1994-95, (b) 1999-2000, (c) 2004-05, (d) 2009-10, (e) 2014-15, and (f) 2019-20.

Helen Whately: Full time equivalent headcount for the FYs indicated above are as follows: (A) 1127 FTE(B) 883 FTE(C) 1268 FTE(D) 1350 FTE(E) 1140 FTE(F) 1599 FTE

Treasury: Recruitment

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which individual or organisation carried out the review of HM Treasury’s recruitment practices conducted in 2020, and if he will publish a copy of the report and recommendations arising from that review.

Helen Whately: EY (Ernst and Young) conducted the review of HM Treasury’s recruitment practices in 2020. The review was intended for internal purposes only and therefore will not be published.

Treasury: Procurement

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 114 of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2020-21, published on 20 July 2021, HC 436, if he will publish the (a) reference and (b) statement of requirements for the procurement contract that the £0.9 million dispute settlement sum recorded relates to.

Helen Whately: The contract including service requirements is available on Contracts Finder at the following link: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/c5d0f4fd-a513-42a8-b8c6-cf080052da07?origin=SearchResults&p=1

Treasury: Recruitment

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which individual or organisation carried out the external review of HM Treasury’s graduate recruitment practices conducted in 2017; and if he will publish a copy of the report and recommendations arising from that review.

Helen Whately: The external review was conducted by the Clear Company and the Careers Research & Advisory Centre. This was not conducted with the intention of publishing the report or the findings, and the intention not to publish remains.

UK Government Investments: Recruitment

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what annual expenditure has been allocated for the cost of increasing the full time equivalent headcount of UK Government Investments by 25.8 per cent in 2022-23; and what estimate he has made of the annual return to the Exchequer as a result of that expenditure.

Helen Whately: Whilst UKGI’s Annual Report 2021-22 noted a planned headcount increase to c165-170 FTE by September 2021, the average headcount employed in 2021-22 was 152. UKGI’s headcount for 2022-23 is being finalised as part of the organisation’s internal planning processes but is not planned to exceed 160 – an increase of around 5% on the previous year’s headcount. At Main Estimates 2021-22, UKGI was allocated a budget of £20.6m, and the proportion of expenditure attributable to staff costs in 2021-22, as well as staff numbers, will be published when the organisation lays its annual accounts before Parliament. Budget allocations for 2022-23 will be published once voted on by Parliament as part of the Main Estimates process. The March 22 OBR forecast estimates that receipts from asset sales of the NatWest group in 2022-23 will be £3.2bn, which UKGI manages the government’s stake in.

Treasury: Recruitment

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to contract reference CCHR21A13 Lots 1 and 2 tendered by his Department in 2021, what statistics have been used to represent the baseline of HM Treasury’s graduate recruitment in terms of (a) ethnic and (b) socioeconomic diversity, against which to measure the contractor’s performance.

Helen Whately: The baseline used to measure the contractor’s performance was our diversity and socioeconomic diversity statistics from the previous campaign where an improvement was sought;2020-21 number%Ethnicity 1015Free School meals 1015No parental degree 2029Cohort Total 68

Treasury: Public Expenditure

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2020-21, published on 20 July 2021, HC 436, what the total value was of (a) uncorrected misstatements of £1 million or smaller and (b) uncorrected misstatements in aggregate whose individual values are below £300,000 in 2020-21 financial year.

Helen Whately: No uncorrected misstatements of £1 million or smaller or uncorrected misstatements in aggregate whose individual values are below £300,000 were notified to the Treasury by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Offshore Industry: Taxation

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with (a) North Sea energy companies and (b) other energy companies on whether Government policy on a windfall tax is linked to levels of investment in the North Sea; and if he will place a copy of the meeting notes in the Library.

Helen Whately: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of external stakeholders. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: HMT ministers' meetings, hospitality, gifts and overseas travel - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) All taxes are kept under review and any changes are considered and announced by the Chancellor.

Treasury: Public Expenditure

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will detail the losses and special payments valued at under £300,000 for his departmental group as defined by section A4.10.7 in his Department's guidance, Managing Public Money, for (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.

Helen Whately: The department has recorded losses and special payments below £300,000 for the years in question as follows: 2020-212019-202018-19£127,481£89,850£146,936

Boats: Customs

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to suspend the requirement for an ATA Carnet for the temporary movement of leisure boats from the UK to the EU.

Lucy Frazer: There is no requirement to use an ATA Carnet for the temporary movement of leisure boats from the UK to the EU. The use of an ATA Carnet is optional and is a commercial decision depending on an individual or business’s specific circumstances. ATA Carnets are generally an option for temporarily moving boats that are participating in an official event, such as a race or a trade fair, between the UK and EU. An ATA Carnet can help simplify customs formalities by allowing a single document to be used for clearing goods through customs in the countries that are part of the ATA Carnet system. In the UK, ATA Carnets are administered by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI). Individuals and businesses wishing to use ATA Carnets are advised to contact the LCCI directly to discuss their needs. Boats for personal use may not require an ATA Carnet as the EU’s Temporary Admission (TA) procedure offers an alternative means to import goods temporarily into the EU, provided the relevant conditions are met. TA is a customs facilitation which allows temporary imports without payment of EU import duties, including VAT. The management of EU import and export procedures is the responsibility of the customs authorities of the EU Member States, so businesses and individuals should confirm the processes at their port of arrival. Individuals or businesses re-importing goods into the UK can claim relief from import VAT, and any customs duty under Returned Goods Relief (RGR), provided specific conditions are met. RGR applies to goods exported from the UK and re-imported within three years in an unaltered state and can be claimed for goods which are imported into the UK following their export from the UK under TA or with an ATA Carnet. The Government recently legislated to make it clear that personal effects, such as leisure boats, returning to the UK with the original owner will be granted a waiver of the three-year rule.

Boats: Customs

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the payment of a ATA Carnet on the temporary movement of boats from the UK to the EU.

Lucy Frazer: The UK is a signatory to the Customs Convention on the ATA Carnet and the Istanbul Convention on Temporary Admission. Approximately 80 countries around the world (including all EU member states) accept ATA Carnets. ATA Carnets are an option for moving goods temporarily between the UK and EU. During negotiations on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the UK and the EU, both parties proposed text on the temporary admission of goods, which reflect practices set out in the ATA Carnet and Istanbul Conventions. These proposals are reflected in the final Trade and Cooperation Agreement text. There is no requirement to use an ATA Carnet for the temporary movement of leisure boats from the UK to the EU. The use of an ATA Carnet is optional and is a commercial decision depending on an individual or business’s specific circumstances.

Non-domestic Rates

Matt Vickers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the rise in the cost of living, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of business rate reform.

Lucy Frazer: The Government concluded the review of the business rates system and published their final report as part of Autumn Budget 2021. The Review set out significant new measures, worth £7 billion over the next 5 years, to reduce the burden of business rates on firms, including a freeze in the multiplier, new support for improvements and green technology, and further relief for high street businesses. The Government are also committing to more frequent revaluations, which represents fundamental reform of the system, and will ensure that liabilities are more responsive to changing market conditions. The announcements made at Autumn Budget 2021 build on over £16 billion of business rates support already provided to the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors throughout the pandemic, including a business rates holiday for 2020-21 and a scheme worth £6 billion in 2021-22.

Business: Taxation

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what tangible benefits for UK businesses are expected to result from his Department’s Tax Administration Strategy reforms; and how he intends to (a) quantify and (b) measure the delivery of those benefits over the period of implementation.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what baseline statistics he will use to measure the improvements for UK businesses resulting from his department’s Tax Administration Strategy reforms, in terms of the current administrative burdens and financial costs faced by businesses in managing their tax affairs.

Lucy Frazer: In July 2020, HMRC and HM Treasury published a tax administration strategy, called ‘Building a trusted, modern tax administration’, which describes the key reforms required to build a modern, digital tax system. HMRC’s Outcome Delivery Plan 2020-21, which is available on the gov.uk website, sets out how the Government will measure delivery of the priority outcomes underpinning the Tax Administration Strategy including performance metrics and measures for the impact to individuals and business. HMRC issues quarterly performance updates, which are also published on gov.uk. These report the progress made towards achieving HMRC’s priority outcomes.  The Government will shortly publish an updated Outcome Delivery Plan for 2022-23, including priority outcomes and metrics linked to the Spending Review 2021 settlement.

Business: Taxation

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his objective to make tax digital for income tax self assessment, what latest estimate he has made of the numbers of UK businesses and landlords with annual business income above £100,000 who are (a) already fully converted to managing their records and payments digitally, (b) equipped to manage their records and payments digitally but not yet converted in full, and (c) not yet equipped to manage their records and payments digitally.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his objective to make tax digital for VAT, what latest estimate he has made of the numbers of VAT-registered businesses with taxable turnover below £85,000 who are (a) already managing their records and making their returns using compliant software, (b) equipped to manage their records and make their returns using compliant software but not yet doing so, and (c) not yet equipped to manage their records and make their returns using compliant software.

Lucy Frazer: HMRC research shows that 97 per cent of small businesses and landlords within the scope of Making Tax Digital (MTD) have access to a compatible device on which to operate it. For MTD for Income Tax, HMRC research shows that 52 per cent of businesses in scope incorporate spreadsheets and 22 per cent incorporate software into their recordkeeping practices. In September 2021, the Government announced businesses would have an extra year to prepare for MTD for Income Tax. Free software will be available for the smallest businesses with straightforward affairs. Over a third of VAT registered businesses with taxable turnover below £85,000 have already voluntarily chosen to join MTD for VAT, demonstrating that a modern and digital approach to managing tax can work for businesses of every size. HMRC research shows that around 80 per cent of VAT-registered businesses below the VAT threshold already employ a digital record-keeping system. Online submissions for VAT returns have been mandatory for all VAT-registered businesses since 2010.

Freezing of Assets: Russia

Ruth Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much tax he projects HM Treasury will collect on the interest accrued on Russian assets frozen in UK banks.

John Glen: This information is not held centrally within government and would involve disproportionate costs to gather. Please note that HM Treasury is not responsible for freezing assets, or for holding frozen assets. On the enactment of an asset freeze, the funds and economic resources are to be frozen immediately by the person in possession or control of them. An asset freeze does not involve a change in ownership of the frozen funds or economic resources, nor are they confiscated or transferred to Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation for safekeeping. Any release of frozen assets can only be accomplished legally with a licence from Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation.

Banks: Closures

Ruth Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many banks have closed on high streets in (a) Wales, (b) Scotland, (c) England and (d) Northern Ireland since 2015.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of bank closures on access to cash for older people.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact on access to cash and banking services of the Lloyds Banking Group announcement that it will shut 60 bank branches.

John Glen: The Government recognises the importance of appropriate access to banking. However, decisions on opening and closing branches are a commercial issue for banks and building societies. The Government does not intervene in these decisions or make direct assessments of these branch networks. Guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority sets out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches or the number of free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs and consider possible alternative access arrangements. This ensures that the implementation of closure decisions is undertaken in a way that treats customers fairly.Alternative options for access can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking, and the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows 99% of personal banking and 95% of business banking customers to deposit cheques, check their balance and withdraw and deposit cash at 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK. The Government also recognises that cash remains an important part of daily life for millions of people across the UK, particularly those in vulnerable groups, and has committed to legislate to protect access to cash. Following the Government’s commitment to legislate, firms are working together through the Cash Action Group to develop new initiatives to provide shared services. New shared services will complement other industry initiatives to support access to cash, such as mobile branches and pop-up services, as well as services for people who need to make payments in their own homes. The Government welcomes the direction set by industry’s commitments at the end of last year and looks forward to seeing what results they deliver in protecting cash facilities for local communities across the UK.

Bank Services

Bim Afolami: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has to bring forward further legislative proposals to protect (a) access to cash and (b) in-person banking services.

John Glen: The Government recognises that cash remains an important part of daily life for millions of people across the UK, and remains committed to legislating to protect access to cash. From 1 July to 23 September last year, the Government held the Access to Cash Consultation on further proposals for new laws to make sure people only need to travel a reasonable distance to pay in or take out cash. The Government’s proposals intend to support the continued use of cash in people’s daily lives and help to enable local businesses to continue accepting cash by ensuring they can access deposit facilities. The Government received responses to the consultation from a broad range of respondents, including individuals, businesses, and charities. The Government has carefully considered responses to the consultation and will set out next steps in due course. More broadly, the government wants to ensure that people have appropriate access to financial services, and recognises the importance of appropriate access to banking. Options for access can be via fixed and mobile bank branches, telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking, and the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows 99% of personal banking and 95% of business banking customers to deposit cheques, check their balance and withdraw and deposit cash at 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK. Following the Government’s commitment to legislate to protect access to cash, firms are working together through the Cash Action Group to develop new initiatives to provide shared services including bank hubs. The Government welcomes the direction set by industry’s commitments at the end of last year and looks forward to seeing what results they deliver in protecting cash facilities for local communities across the UK.

Debts: Advisory Services

Paul Maynard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support he plans to provide for increasing Government-funded debt advice.

John Glen: The Government recognises the vital role that debt advice providers play in helping people in vulnerable circumstances. This is why the Government provided record levels of debt advice funding to the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) for free-to-client debt advice provision in England in 2020/21 and 2021/22. The Government and MaPS remain committed to help individuals in problem debt get their finances back on track, especially as some now face new challenges in the shape of the sharp rise in inflation. On 14 February, MaPS confirmed funding levels for debt advice services in England over the next three financial years. Its budget for the delivery of frontline debt advice provision in England has risen to £76 million for each of the next three financial years (subject to the usual annual budget setting by the Government), recognising an anticipated increase in the need for debt advice. This represents a significant increase from pre-pandemic levels of funding, which totalled £43 million in 2019/20.

Cash Dispensing

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his planned timetable is for bringing forward legislative proposals to protect access to cash, announced in March 2020.

John Glen: The Government recognises that cash remains an important part of daily life for millions of people across the UK, and remains committed to legislating to protect access to cash. From 1 July to 23 September last year, the Government held the Access to Cash Consultation on further proposals for new laws to make sure people only need to travel a reasonable distance to pay in or take out cash. The Government’s proposals intend to support the continued use of cash in people’s daily lives and help to enable local businesses to continue accepting cash by ensuring they can access deposit facilities. The Government received responses to the consultation from a broad range of respondents, including individuals, businesses, and charities. The Government has carefully considered responses to the consultation and will set out next steps in due course.

Cooperatives

Jim McMahon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the cooperative sector's contribution to the economy.

John Glen: The Government recognises the value of co-operatives. It is clear they offer a different way of running a business, supporting the needs of their members and their local communities. Co-operatives UK, the UK’s largest industry body for co-operatives, publishes a report each year about the scale of the sector. Their 2021 report, published in December, noted that there were over 7,200 co-ops employing over 250,000 people, with a combined turnover of £39.7 billion.

Government Departments: Development Aid

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the disbursement of Official Development Assistance in FY2022-23 by each Government department.

John Glen: The 2021 Spending Review provides departments with an Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget of £11.4 billion in 2022-23. HMT will publish individual departmental ODA allocations in due course.

Cryptocurrencies: Russia

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with representatives of crypto currency organisation on the transfer of Russian assets within their businesses.

John Glen: HM Treasury has engaged with cryptoasset businesses though public communications and official-level meetings with industry representatives. On 11 March, HM Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England issued a statement setting out the expectation that cryptoasset businesses play their part in ensuring that sanctions are complied with. The statement sets out the legal and regulatory requirements on cryptoasset businesses with regard to sanctions, as well as steps that firms can take to reduce the risk of sanctions evasion. The FCA has also written to all registered cryptoasset firms and those holding temporary registration status to highlight the application of sanctions on various Russian entities and individuals. The government and UK authorities are actively monitoring the use of cryptoassets, in order to detect sanctions evasion, and stand ready to act in the event of sanctions breaches.

Funerals: Pre-payment

Angela Crawley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to safeguard the customers of (a) Safe Hands and (b) other prepaid funeral providers that may not abide by FCA regulations.

Angela Crawley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking in preparation for the upcoming Financial Conduct Authority regulations for prepaid funeral plans to help ensure that people who have purchased plans from suppliers that do not apply for, or fail to receive, FCA approval will receive an equal plan from another provider or get a refund.

John Glen: Safe Hands Funeral Plans has recently gone into administration. I am aware that the current situation will be distressing for customers of Safe Hands and can assure you that the Treasury continues to monitor the implementation of regulation in this sector closely. I welcome the commitment from Dignity to provide funerals to Safe Hands’ customers for two weeks. It is a regrettable fact that bringing a previously unregulated sector into regulation – whatever form that may take – creates a possibility that some providers are not able to meet the threshold for authorisation. Where a provider is unable to obtain FCA authorisation because of underlying issues, it is important to understand that this is not an issue created by bringing the sector into regulation. Rather, bringing the sector into regulation exposes these unsustainable business models and prevents these problems from getting worse and impacting more consumers. The FCA’s guidance is clear that providers who are not seeking or not able to obtain authorisation should either transfer their existing plans to a provider which is seeking authorisation, or wind down in an orderly way before regulation starts.

Cash Dispensing: Fees and Charges

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the access to cash via free-to-use ATMs in (a) rural areas and (b) low-income areas and with reference to the Access to Cash consultation, what his timetable is to introduce legislative proposals based on the consultation outcomes.

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the accessibility for people who are housebound to cash; and what steps he is taking to ensure that people who are housebound have access to cash.

John Glen: The government recognises that cash remains an important part of daily life for millions of people across the UK, particularly those in vulnerable groups, and has committed to legislate to protect access to cash. From 1 July to 23 September last year, the Government held the Access to Cash Consultation on proposals for new laws to make sure people only need to travel a reasonable distance to pay in or take out cash. The Government’s proposals intend to support the continued use of cash in people’s daily lives and help to enable local businesses to continue accepting cash by ensuring they can access deposit facilities. The Government has carefully considered responses to the consultation and will set out next steps in due course. Following the government’s commitment to legislate, firms are working together through the Cash Action Group to develop new initiatives to provide shared services. The Cash Action Group has stated that new shared services will complement other industry initiatives to support access to cash, such as mobile branches and pop-up services, as well as services for people who need to make payments in their own homes. On access to free-to-use ATMs specifically, LINK (the scheme that runs the UK's largest ATM network) has commitments to protect the broad geographic spread of free-to-use ATMs and is held to account against these commitments by the Payment Systems Regulator. LINK has committed to protect free-to-use ATMs more than one kilometre away from the next nearest free ATM or Post Office, and free access to cash on high streets (where there is a cluster of five or more retailers) that do not have a free-to-use ATM or a Post Office counter within one kilometre. LINK also publishes the total number of free-to-use ATMs across the UK. As of January 2022, LINK reported that there were around 41,000 free-to-use ATMs in the UK. LINK’s Monthly ATM Footprint Report also publishes information monthly on the break down by constituency. More broadly, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) publishes data on access to cash coverage across the UK. As of the second quarter of 2021, the FCA reported that nearly 96% of the UK population are within 2km of a free-to-use cash access point.

Banks

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to help ensure that high street bank branches remain open.

John Glen: The Government recognises the importance of appropriate access to banking. However, decisions on opening and closing branches are a commercial issue for banks and building societies. The largest banks and building societies have been signed up to the Access to Banking Standard since 2017, which commits them to ensure that customers are well informed about branch closures, the bank’s reasons for closure and options for continued access to banking services.Guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority also sets out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches or the number of free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs and consider possible alternative access arrangements. This ensures that the implementation of closure decisions is undertaken in a way that treats customers fairly.Alternative options for access can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking, and the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows 99% of personal banking and 95% of business banking customers to deposit cheques, check their balance and withdraw and deposit cash at 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK.

Pension Rights: Age

Matt Rodda: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to publish further details of the protection regime allowing people with existing unqualified rights to take their pension before the age of 57.

John Glen: HMRC published information on the protection regime in Pension Schemes Newsletter (no.136) on 17 January 2022. In addition, HMRC will update the Pensions Tax Manual at the earliest opportunity to reflect the changes to the Normal Minimum Pension Age from 2028. This will include the protection regime that will apply to those with an unqualified right to access their savings before the Normal Minimum Pension Age of 57.

Interest Rate Hedging Products Review

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the independent review into the supervisory intervention of Interest Rate Hedging Products, published by the Financial Conduct Authority on 14 December 2021.

John Glen: The Government supported the FCA's decision to commission an independent "lessons-learned" review of its supervisory intentions regarding the mis-selling of IRHPs. I note that the FCA accepted the majority of recommendations put forward in the review. The Government has always been clear that any mis-selling of financial products is completely unacceptable and wrong. That’s why we unequivocally supported the FCA’s review process into the mis-selling of interest rate hedging products and the redress scheme which ultimately saw £2.2 billion of redress being paid out to 14,000 businesses. The Government is confident that the redress scheme met its objectives, delivering compensation to businesses which had been wronged and bringing closure to this issue.

National Fund and Zedra Fiduciary Services (UK)

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any revenue has accrued to the Exchequer from a cy-près scheme from (a) Zedra Fiduciary Services and (b) the National Fund as at 28 March 2022.

John Glen: No revenue has accrued to the Exchequer from a cy-près scheme from either Zedra Fiduciary Services or the National Fund as at 28 March 2022.

Cars: Insurance

Bob Blackman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) car insurance firms are abiding by the Equality Act 2010 and (b) no one is paying more for car insurance due to protected characteristics.

Bob Blackman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that algorithms used in the insurance markets do not lead to racial discrimination in pricing.

John Glen: Insurers are required to abide by the Equality Act (2010) and are not allowed to use ethnicity as a risk factor when determining the price of insurance. The recent Citizens Advice report highlights an important point that there is the risk of discrimination in pricing in the insurance market and this matter should be looked into further. Insurers must treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) rules. The FCA is an independent non-governmental body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry, including insurers. The Government is keen to ensure that all consumers have access to a range of financial products that suits their needs and is keeping this situation under review.

Treasury: PwC

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the (a) independent business reviews and (b) related diligence reports provided to his Department by PriceWaterhouseCoopers between 31 December 2020 and 30 September 2021 under the terms of contract reference CCCC20B72, specifying the (i) subject of each review or report and (ii) the date of its submission to his Department.

John Glen: Unfortunately, we are unable to publish the work produced by PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Government departments including the Treasury routinely engage private sector consultancy firms as part of our policy development work, including to help us to deepen our understanding and expertise about different sectors and of the economy as a whole. Disclosure of this information would prejudice the ability to have free and frank exchanges of views on policymaking and would prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs and is therefore not appropriate. The work in question may also contain commercially sensitive information about sectors or companies and disclosing this would be likely to prejudice commercial interests.

Intestacy

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue his Department has derived from Bona Vacantia in each of the last five years.

John Glen: Every year, Her Majesty’s Treasury receives revenue derived from Bona Vacantia in England and Wales. Including the current year to February 2022, the total amount of revenue transferred to HM Treasury’s Consolidated Fund account over the last five financial years is £292 million. Revenue over the past five years is broken down by year below: Year[1]Income (£m)202282202138202067201955201850[1] Transfer of funds to the Consolidated Fund happens in February each year and is based on figures as of the end of January for the preceding 12 months. The Bona Vacantia team publishes its accounts on the relevant webpage: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/bona-vacantia

Charitable Trusts

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has had correspondence with the (a) Attorney General's Office, (b) Government Legal Department or (c) Charity Commission on the cy-près doctrine or the operation of cy-près schemes since 2017.

John Glen: HM Treasury has not had any correspondence on the cy-près doctrine or the general operation of cy-près schemes with any of the named organisations since 2017.

NatWest Group: Government Shareholding

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what conclusions have been reached as a result of the advice commissioned by his Department from Slaughter & May in October 2021 on the legal risks arising from his Department exercising its rights as a shareholder of NatWest Group PLC.

John Glen: HM Treasury (HMT) has contracted Slaughter and May to provide advice in relation to the government’s shareholding in NatWest Group (NWG) (formerly known as the Royal Bank of Scotland). Any risks arising out of the Government’s position as shareholder in NWG are being managed in accordance with normal internal assurance processes, including obtaining appropriate legal advice on specific issues. It would not be appropriate to provide further detail on any specific conclusions reached, which are commercially sensitive and subject to legal professional privilege. Costs for undertaking this work will be reimbursed by NWG, in line with the terms of the Resale Rights Agreement between HMT and NWG. The government remains committed to returning its NWG shareholding to the private sector in a way that represents value for money to taxpayers.

Annuities

David Simmonds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department is taking steps to allow individuals to exit their annuity plans.

John Glen: The government announced in October 2016 that it would not be continuing with proposals to remove the restrictions on the sale of existing annuities. As these proposals progressed it became increasingly clear that the conditions required for a competitive market to emerge, with multiple buyers and sellers of annuities, could not be balanced with sufficient consumer protections. This could have led to consumers receiving poor value for their annuity income streams and suffering higher costs in the sales process. Consumer protection is a top priority for the government and it would not have been acceptable to allow a market to develop which could produce poor outcomes for consumers. There are no plans to review the decision not to continue with proposals for a secondary market in annuities at this time.

Revenue and Customs and Treasury: Fraud

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the current formal measure of risk appetite for fraud is in (a) HM Treasury and (b) HM Revenue and Customs; and whether that has changed in the last five years.

Helen Whately: HM Treasury and HMRC take a risk-based approach to fraud and error in meeting their policy objectives. This is advocated by the Government Counter Fraud Function and the National Audit Office. The Departments manage fraud risk and set risk appetite in line with current guidance in the Orange Book, Managing Public Money, and the Government Functional Standard for Counter Fraud. Where guidance has been updated in the last five years, the Departments have ensured that their approach to fraud risk management is still in line with this.

Business: Data Protection

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with Ministers in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the (a) costs and benefits for UK businesses of that Department's proposed reforms of UK data protection regulation and (b) potential risks to the UK's future data adequacy status with the EU.

Helen Whately: Treasury Ministers and officials continue to work closely with Ministers and officials at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the Department’s proposed reforms of UK data protection regulation. The UK regained autonomy over its domestic data protection laws on 1st January 2021 and exact alignment to EU law is not a requirement for EU data adequacy. The UK can reshape its approach to regulation and seize opportunities with its new regulatory freedoms, helping to drive growth, innovation and competition across the country. In doing so, the UK intends to maintain its high standards of data protection and ensure that the UK data regime continues to be based on public trust in the responsible use of data. The economic impact of any future legislation to implement these reforms will be assessed in the usual way, and we will continue to engage with EU counterparts, as appropriate, on these issues. The Government response to the ‘Data: a new direction’ consultation will be published in the spring.

Fuels: Excise Duties

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to require retailers to pass on reductions in fuel duty to the consumer.

Helen Whately: The legislation to implement the 12-month cut to fuel duty rates took effect from 6pm on 23 March 2022. The Government is clear that it expects those in the supply chain to pass the fuel duty cut through to consumers as soon as possible, and will continue to monitor fuel prices closely.

Fuels: Excise Duties

Ruth Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he will take to help ensure the reduction to fuel duty will be passed down in full to customers in (a) Newport West constituency and (b) Wales.

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that the 5 pence cut to fuel duty is passed on to consumers.

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the proportion of the fuel duty cut that has been passed on to motorists.

Helen Whately: The Government is clear that it expects those in the supply chain to pass the fuel duty cut through to consumers as soon as possible, and has written to key industry stakeholders to set out this expectation. The Government will continue to monitor fuel prices closely.

Energy Bills Rebate: Rented Housing

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Energy Bill Discount Scheme, whether it is his policy that the benefits of the discount be passed onto tenants who have bills paid with their tenancy arrangement; whether a tenant who has not received a rebate will have to pay the additional £40 per annum charge in the case that a tenant has moved into a property following the application of the rebate; and in what way his Department will help ensure that renters who split and pay utility bills separately but occupy the same property will be treated equitably under the Scheme, including where tenants move into another property during the course of five years of the rebate.

Helen Whately: All domestic electricity customers in Great Britain will receive a £200 reduction in their electricity costs from this October through the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS). Third parties such as landlords should pass on the £200 reduction to the end users. The Government will recoup the costs of the EBSS in full from domestic energy bills over five years from 2022-23. The Government will explore these issues further through a public consultation run by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in the spring.

Business: Supply Chains

Matt Vickers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he plans to take to help UK businesses maintain effective supply chains.

Helen Whately: Many economies around the world are currently facing supply chain disruptions. This is due to a combination of global factors, including the strong recovery from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The Government understands the pressure that this is placing on UK businesses, and we are in regular contact with business groups and suppliers about the challenges they are facing. Where problems are global in nature, we will work with international partners to maintain effective supply chains and build greater resilience into trade networks. And in extraordinary circumstances, Government has helped domestically. For example, we have supported the haulage industry through HGV driver shortages and eased pressures on the movement of goods into and out of the UK. This package of support includes £32.5m support for improved lorry park facilities, to aid with retention in the sector.  However, we should also recognise that Government intervention is often not the solution to supply chain issues. Where supply faces constraints government spending can merely add further to price pressures rather than resolve then. Furthermore, businesses should not be perpetually reliant on taxpayer support and should adjust their business models in response to market pressures. For example, in the case of HGV drivers, better pay and conditions are required in the long-term and the private sector has a role to deliver this.

Members: Correspondence

Mr John Baron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 17 December 2021, 14 January 2022, 14 February 2022 and 14 March 2022 from the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay regarding a constituent, case reference JB35562.

Helen Whately: The hon. Member's correspondence was transferred from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 8 February 2022 and I have responded.

Treasury: Cybersecurity

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much has been spent on cyber security for his Department in each of the last five years.

Helen Whately: A core component of our National Cyber Strategy is to strengthen the cyber security of government and public services. The Government Cyber Security Strategy, launched in January 2022, will make sure that core government functions are resilient to cyber attacks. This work will be supported by an enhanced assurance regime to raise standards and a new Government Cyber Coordination Centre. The delivery of both the National and Government strategies is supported by £2.6 billion of investment over three years. For reasons of national security we do not comment on how much is spent by each department on cyber security.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Fraud

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, DCMS Annual Report and Accounts 2020-21, published on 16 December 2021, HC 758, if she will make an assessment of the consistency of that Department's higher level of fraud risk appetite during the covid-19 pandemic with the Government's zero-tolerance approach to all internal fraud.

Julia Lopez: DCMS and our arms-length bodies have a zero-tolerance approach to any incidents of fraud.We have robust due diligence and grant monitoring processes to ensure that government funding is used for the purposes intended.Due to the unique circumstances of COVID-19, DCMS agreed to accept a higher tolerance to fraud risk due to the demand for urgent delivery of relief schemes. This was agreed, subject to a number of mitigations including, in particular, investment in our remedial or post-event scrutiny, with Post Event Assurance (PEA) workstreams embedded in COVID-19 relief packages.DCMS identified immaterial amounts of fraud in 2020-21 (equivalent to 0.03% of its total budget) which is well within the Department's risk tolerance and average tolerance levels for fraud and error across Central Government (0.5 - 5%). The 2020-21 results of our high-risk COVID-19 packages have been shared with the Public Accounts Committee, at the recall session on 4 November 2021. These findings were tested by the National Audit Office as part of their audit of our year-end accounts. The NAO were satisfied and gave an unqualified opinion on our 2020-21 Accounts.We are currently reviewing our fraud risk appetite and plan to revert to pre-COVID-19 fraud tolerance levels for the financial year 2022-23.

DLA Piper

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish the legal analysis and advice provided by DLA Piper UK LLP on data protection law and practice in support of the International Data Transfer Regime under the terms of contract reference 102274.

Julia Lopez: This specific legal analysis relates to ongoing and future policy development and can therefore not be published at this time, but will be made available in due course.

DLA Piper

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish the statement of requirements set out by her Department in contract reference 102274 and tendered to DLA Piper UK LLP.

Julia Lopez: The statement of requirements for this contract relates to ongoing and future policy developments and therefore cannot be published at this moment in time. It will be made available in due course.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Public Expenditure

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will detail the losses and special payments valued at under £300,000 for her departmental group as defined by section A4.10.7 in HM Treasury's Managing Public Money for (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.

Julia Lopez: We gather information for the total number and value of losses and special payments for each financial year, but only the detailed breakdown of each of these which are above £300k. We do not gather itemised information for losses and special payments below this level (i.e. what it relates to or any other details) as there is no requirement to do so for the purposes of statutory financial reporting.The details on the amounts over £300k are published in the Annual Report and Accounts for that year. All the information for losses and special payments requested above can therefore be found in the corresponding Annual Report and Accounts for the applicable year, available on GOV.UK.